Financial Contrast: Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) & BE Semiconductor Industries (OTCMKTS:BESIY)

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) and BE Semiconductor Industries (OTCMKTS:BESIY) are both technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Photronics and BE Semiconductor Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Photronics	0	2	3	2	3.00
BE Semiconductor Industries	0	2	5	2	3.00

Photronics currently has a consensus price target of $49.33, indicating a potential upside of 46.01%. Given Photronics’ higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Photronics is more favorable than BE Semiconductor Industries.

Volatility and Risk

Photronics has a beta of 1.38, suggesting that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BE Semiconductor Industries has a beta of 2, suggesting that its share price is 100% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Photronics and BE Semiconductor Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Photronics	18.47%	7.69%	6.74%
BE Semiconductor Industries	28.42%	46.44%	18.48%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

88.4% of Photronics shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.3% of Photronics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of BE Semiconductor Industries shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Photronics and BE Semiconductor Industries”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Photronics	$849.29 million	2.35	$136.40 million	$2.74	12.33
BE Semiconductor Industries	$668.88 million	29.86	$148.94 million	$3.05	90.32

BE Semiconductor Industries has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Photronics. Photronics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BE Semiconductor Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

BE Semiconductor Industries beats Photronics on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Photronics

Photronics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of photomask products and services in the United States, Taiwan, China, Korea, Europe, and internationally. It offers photomasks that are used in the manufacture of integrated circuits and flat panel displays (FPDs); and to transfer circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers, and FDP substrates. The company offers electrical and optical components. It sells its products to semiconductor and FPD manufacturers, designers, and foundries, as well as to other high-performance electronics manufacturers through its sales personnel and customer service representatives. The company was formerly known as Photronic Labs, Inc. and changed its name to Photronics, Inc. in 1990. Photronics, Inc. was incorporated in 1969 and is based in Brookfield, Connecticut.

About BE Semiconductor Industries

BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, sale, and service of semiconductor assembly equipment for the semiconductor and electronics industries in China, the United States, Malaysia, Ireland, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Other Asia Pacific and Europe, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Die Attach, Packaging, and Plating. The company's principal products include die attach equipment, such as single chip, multi-chip, multi module, flip chip, thermal compression bonding, fan out wafer level packaging, hybrid and embedded bridge die bonding, and die sorting systems; and packaging equipment, including conventional, ultra-thin, and wafer level molding, as well as trim and form, and singulation systems. It also provides plating equipment, such as tin, copper, and precious metal and solar plating systems, as well as related process chemicals; and tooling, conversion kits, spare parts, and other services. The company's principal brand names include Datacon, Esec, Fico, and Meco. It offers its products primarily to multinational chip manufacturers, assembly subcontractors, and electronics and industrial companies. BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Duiven, the Netherlands.